Amazon Council
by Dina Soars
Summary: Returning home in defeat. Shampoo learns the price for failure.


Amazon Council

It was the oldest and largest hut in the village. It had a thatched roof on its mud walls, and a hole in the roof for the smoke of its centered fire pit. It may not have been the most modern of buildings in the village or the most aesthetically pleasing either, but its importance could not be disputed. For this was the chamber of the high council of the Amazons. The place where the elders and masters of the village would meet in order to discus matters of importance, to solve disputes amongst the villagers or questions of the Law. The smoke rising from the roof signified that the council was in session. No one would dare to interrupt a meeting that was not meant for them.

A girl the age of sixteen stood before the council. Her long purple tresses were pushed over her shoulders. Standing straight and proud, the girl looked directly at the Matriarch of the Village. Waiting for her to start.

"Shampoo." The ancient woman spoke. "Does your return to the village mean that you have killed this outsider called Ranma?"

Shampoo took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. Without showing any emotion the girl replied. "No great Grandmother. Ranma is not dead."

The council gasped at the impertinence of the young woman. The old lady of the council narrowed her eyes on the young warrior. "You will address me by my proper title here!" she said in an icy tone.

"Yes Matriarch." The girl replied sheepishly.

"Good, now tell us why you have returned home with your task uncompleted?" The old woman said, returning back to the business at hand. "Remember what you have to say will determine your future. So speak wisely."

Staring straight ahead lest to show any fear. Shampoo started her tale. "After I gave the outside girl the kiss of death. I chased her and her panda across China from village to village. They were always just one step ahead of me. She is very cleaver and fast, I had a tough time tracking their next moves. It came clear that she was heading towards the Sea of Japan so I thought I would meet them at the port. Unfortunately this is where I lost them." Shampoo paused a moment to gather her thoughts. "I had questioned the port master and the dock handlers for two days. No one saw either of them. I was about to leave and try the next port down on the coast, when I overheard an old sea man telling his mate about a girl and panda jumping into the water and started to swim out to sea." The council started to murmur their disbelief at this news.

"I see." Said the matriarch. "Its too bad the outsider defeated you. She would have made a formidable Amazon if she could swim all the way to Japan. So tell me Shampoo is this when you decided to turn tail and run?" The old woman said with contempt in her voice.

"I don't give up that easily!" Protested the girl. "I booked passage on the next ship out of China heading for Japan. I had to work my fare but that didn't bother me. I reasoned that if I could get there first then I could surprise her and defeat her on her arrival." The council was impressed with her resourcefulness. Then she continued. "The problem was I didn't know where they were going to in Japan." She said embarrassed. A couple of the council members laughed but were quickly quieted by a stern look from the Matriarch. Shampoo continued her tale. "I therefore decided to head to the largest city, Tokyo. I figured that a giant panda would be very noticeable. It took a few days of looking and not being able to speak Japanese well made it harder. While walking down a shopping district I came across an unusual box. There was a man in it. The man in the magic box was saying something about a panda on the loose in a small district called Nerima. He didn't seem to concern about this and said that that ward was known for strange things. I finally had the lead that I was looking for." Pausing to see if the council was still following her story shampoo continued. "I finally found her with a friend. As soon as she saw me the outsider ran like a coward. I would have thought that someone who beat me in battle would have been more brave." The council had thought this as well. Maybe this Ranma was lucky to have beaten Shampoo the first time. Shampoo looked over to the fire and noticed it was starting to get low. She was going to have to skip a lot of the unnecessary details, for she only had as long as the fire remained lit.

"Continue child." The Matriarch said sensing Shampoo's concern.

I found where Ranma's friend lived and decided to pay her a visit. She would know where I could find Ranma. I attacked her hoping to loosen her tongue but in doing so a man jumped in the way and defeated me while trying to protect her. As it turned out his name was Ranma as well."

There was a sharp gasp from the entire council. Did this Japan really have warriors so good that they could beat their best?

"So what did you do?" Asked the Lore master Lotion. As lore master it was Lotion's duty to record history as well as to interpret the laws as they have been handed down through the ages.

A small smile formed on the face of the girl, it was soon replaced with the look of sorrow. "I gave him the Kiss of love and proclaimed my devotion to him."

The members of the council nodded their approval. A man this good would sire many strong daughters and help keep the tribe's blood lines fresh.

"So where is your husband Shampoo?" Asked Lotion gaining a stern look from the Matriarch Cologne.

Shampoo sighed at the thought of her strong man. "He proved to be reluctant to accept my love. I would be trying to show him my devotion only to have him disappear. As soon as he would vanish the girl would show up. I would try to kill her and when she escaped he would appear. My attention soon became divided and I was unable to focus my attention on one or the other.

"That was good strategy on their part." Commented Shadow the War master.

Glancing at the fire Shampoo knew that she was going to have to hurry if she wanted all the facts to be given. The Matriarch noticed this as well and motioned her to continue.

"I finally had the Boy type Ranma in my grasp and the Girl type was soon to be mine as well. Only to find out that they were the one in the same."

"How is that Shampoo? We all saw the Girl when you fought her and she was definitely a girl." This question came from Incense the Spirit master.

"I was surprised as well. But when the boy poured a bucket of water on himself he became her. I cannot explain it but I saw it with my own eyes. Once more she claimed to have always been a girl.

I was hurt and angry. I let my emotion get the better of me. I do love the boy. Yet I have to kill the girl. I tried to kill her but when it came down to it I could only see the boy there in front of me. I decided I would come home for council on what to do."

This revelation brought quite a stir amongst the members of the council. Shampoo heard some of the council saying things like Jusenkyo and Nanichann. Shampoo did not understand what she said that would cause such a ruckus. After a moment the council had quieted down. Blush the Healing master spoke up. "I have one question for you Shampoo. Was it hot or cold water that this Ranma poured on himself?"

Shampoo was really confused by the question. What difference did that make? She wondered to herself. "It was cold water he took it straight form the pond and it was a cool night."

The council members shared a look of understanding amongst themselves. The Matriarch spoke. "Your time is up Shampoo." Indeed Shampoo noticed that the fire did in fact die out. "Go to your hut and we will call you when we have reached a decision on what to do with you."

Shampoo was no sooner out the door when all hell broke loose in the council chamber. Members were arguing over the importance of the situation. "Silence!" Yelled the Matriarch. "This is an unusual situation." She continued in a more relaxed tone. "Lore master has there ever been a situation like this before?"

Lotion thought about this for a while and checked some of the books that she had brought with her. After some consideration she shook her head. "No I have not heard of another case like this before."

Cologne nodded she too had never heard of this before which surprised her considering how close to Jusenkyo they were. "So this is the problem. Shampoo was beaten not once but twice by the same person. It is obvious that this person is under a Jusenkyo curse and had defeated her in both forms. So which law applies here? The Kiss of Death, or The Kiss of Love. To wed, or to kill? We do know that this Ranma is in fact male due to the fact that cold water makes him a girl." Cologne looked at her fellow council members and saw that they all agreed to her statement. "It doesn't help that Ranma beat her first as a girl. So Lotion what is your opinion on the matter? "

The Lore master cleared her throat and with a quiet but authoritative voice spoke. "The law is very clear on being defeated by an outside female. Since the person in question was indeed a female at the time that must take the persistence."

The Healing master interrupted her colleague. "Even if he looked female we know that his true form is male and therefore the marriage vow is the only true option."

Incense the Spirit master agreed with the Healing master. "This Ranma should have been informed of our laws if the opportunity was available before excepting his first challenge."

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse!" yelled Lotion. Both the Land master and the Herd master agreed with the Lore master.

"Well in that case Shampoo was in a no win situation." Said the sea master Stocking with a slight grin on her face. She likes to get under the pompous Lore master's skin. Being the only master that had to practice her trade outside the village gave her a better understanding of the outside world.

"Why is that?" Asked Shadow the War master. It was her duty to protect the village from out side attacks and information was power. Cologne smiled at her apprentice in approval.

Stocking smiled, this was an opportunity to state her case and she wouldn't pass it up. "Shampoo was under tribal law to kill the outsider as soon as she was defeated. Allowing Ranma to escape to the outside world subjected her to their laws." She stopped to allow her words to sink in a bit. "They frown on killing in the outside world. Even for a noble cause as revenge." She said the last part with a little bit of edge on it because she always felt that law was archaic.

"What does the village gain form either law?" Asked Shadow.

Lotion spoke with a proud air. "We keep our pride and our honor." She hoped to convince the War master with this line of argument. It seemed that having her on her side would tip the balance in her favor.

Incense spoke next. "We would gain much more than just honor. We would gain fresh blood, new knowledge, strong heirs and with his curse a strong warrior that could teach the young and defend the village against the Musk." Incense smiled knowing her argument was much stronger than the lore master's was. The warrior nodded and considered the points given as the two factions started to argue again.

"Enough!" yelled Cologne. She was getting tired of the bickering and it seemed that the other members of the council had made up their minds. "I call for a vote. Lore master?"

"Death."

"Spirit Master?"

"Marriage."

"Craft master?"

"Death." The Craft master was known for her mean streak and it was no surprise that she would vote for the death of the outsider.

"Sea master?"

"Marriage."

"Healing master?

"Marriage."

"Land master?" The land master was in charge of all the crops that were needed to feed the village.

"Death."

"Heard master?"

"Death." It was no surprise of this vote either. The heard master and land master were rumored to be very close.

"And finally War master?" As defender of the village it was her duty to vote last so the others would not vote due to her decision.

"I vote in favour of the Marriage law. The pluses out weigh the negatives."

Cologne frowned, a tied vote leaving the decision to her. She had hoped to avoid making a decision on her Great granddaughter's fate. "I must make the final vote, but not until I ask Shampoo one more question." The council nodded it was the matriarchs right to question the defendant on last time on a stalemate. "Now as for her punishment for failure."

"I have a suggestion." Offered the Craft master. She smiled as she explained the punishment, and why she chose it. The council listened and felt a certain justice with what the Craft master was offering. They agreed.

Shampoo sat in her hut waiting for her future to be decided. She thought about her time out of the village and decided that she liked being out of the village and hoped for an opportunity to go again. Of course there was the fear of being exiled. This would allow her to leave but she would never be allowed to return and this did not excite her. She wondered what Ranma was doing now. Shampoo was still confused by the turn of events and wished her strong man wasn't really a girl. How did she do that any ways?

A knock at the door woke shampoo out of her daydream. "The council wants to see you." The voice behind the door said. Shampoo got up and headed out of her hut to follow the guard.

The entire council watched the young Amazon as she entered the hut. She showed no fear just resignation. The truth be told Shampoo was terrified but to show it would be more disgraceful then her failure to kill Ranma. Taking her place the Matriarch spoke to her. "Shampoo the council is at a stale mate over this situation. Therefore the final vote on your fate comes down to me. Do you understand." She nodded. Shampoo didn't know if this would be a good thing or not. Being the Matriarch's family meant having certain benefits but on the same note came higher expectations as well. "Good. The first thing that you should know is a little about your foe. Do you know the valley not far from here?"

"The forbidden valley just over the range?" Shampoo asked.

"Yes that's the one. It is called Jusenkyo. It is a dangerous place. Many that have visited end up cursed. It is of the curses that we asked you if the water was hot or cold that Ranma had poured on himself." Shampoo noticed the Matriarch referred to Ranma as a male. "The water was cold right?" Shampoo nodded. "That means Ranma's true form is male and not female. This fact is what has caused the stalemate in the councils vote." Shampoo understood the implication of the situation right away. "So with this I ask you do you want your revenge or do you want a husband?"

Shampoo had come home for advice and now they were asking her what she was going to do. The only thing was she learned more about Ranma that changed her understanding of the situation. Shampoo was the best fighter of her generation, but killing was not in her. She did find the boy attractive and he was a skilled warrior. She could do worse, for a husband. Mousse came to mind. "I want a husband." She said after much deliberation.

Cologne had guessed as much. "Ok it is decided then. I will go with you back to Japan and help you to bring home your husband.

Now then, as to your punishment for failure. You will be retrained at the forbidden valley Jusenkyo. If you can defeat your trainer then no harm will come to you but if you fail you will learn more about your new husband and how his curse works. This will help you in your quest, as knowledge is power. Your training will start tomorrow. We will head for Japan on completion of the training. Go and prepare yourself." Cologne then turned to the rest of the council and said. "The meeting is adjured." All members rose and left the building.

It was the only building not to have any lights on. It looked almost abandoned. It was old and had a single hole in the thatched roof for its central fire pit. Patches on the mud walls showed its age. It was the Chamber for the Council of the Amazons.

Authors notes: I don't usually make notes but some things need to be said. I had always wondered why Shampoo would return after hr final confrontation with Ranma thinking he was a girl. I also felt that her return to the village would be questioned. The Idea of a council came to me when I read another story called "Tails of two wallets." A very good story if you hadn't read it. In that story a new old lady shows up and her name is "Lotion the Lore master" I liked this and thought that a village would need many Masters for various sections of society. This got me thinking of Anne McCaffery's stories of Pern and thus led me to the Amazons having such a social structure. Lotion's character is different from "ToTW" and not as well developed and the others were my own creations as far as I know. I hope you enjoyed it and got you thinking.


End file.
